Indictment finally filed for the crime in Štrpci

The War Crimes Prosecutor's Office of Serbia announced today that it has filed an indictment against five former members of the Army of Republika Srpska on suspicion that 22 years ago in Štrpci they kidnapped and killed 20 passengers from a train traveling on the Belgrade-Bar line, reports the news agency Patria.

The indictment was filed against Gojko Lukić, Ljubiša Vasiljević, Duško Vasiljević, Jovan Lipovac and Dragana Đekić on reasonable suspicion that, as co-perpetrators, they committed a war crime against the civilian population in the places of Štrpci, Prelovo and Mušići (BiH) on February 27, 1993.

-By filing this indictment, 22 years after the kidnapping of 20 passengers of non-Serb nationality from the train at Štrpci station, the first step has been taken towards establishing the truth about this event and achieving justice for the victims and their families, the Prosecutor's Office stated in a press release.

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH is conducting an investigation against another 10 persons suspected of this crime.

All 15 suspects were arrested on December 5, 2014, in a joint operation by members of the police forces and the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office of Serbia and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH.

Train 671 on the Belgrade-Bar route was stopped on February 27, 1993, by a uniformed group led by Milan Lukić, who removed 20 passengers from the train, of whom 18 were of Bosniak nationality, one of Croatian nationality, and one person of Afro-Asian origin.

The passengers were then taken to a nearby village in the Višegrad municipality and killed.